With over 1.5 billion monthly active users, Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook team has to expect that feedback is going to happen. As with anything large and successful there will be complaints, recommendations, and negativity. After several years of the same complaint, Zuckerberg and his team have finally listened and have launched Reactions.

This new Facebook feature is an extension of the Like button. Long gone are the days of users being limited to just “Liking” Facebook posts. With Reactions, Facebook users can quickly and easily share more of their emotion and opinion. This is especially beneficial because the “Like” option isn’t always the best fit for every type of post. For example, a post about a recent death in the family or a lost dog isn’t something people want to “Like”, and a comment may be too difficult to leave. Now Facebook users will have the option to react more realistically with “Sad”, “Angry”, and “Wow” Reactions.

Facebook tested the new Reactions last year over different markets to analyze the response and narrowed down the right amount of Reactions to provide Facebook users with.

“Our goal with News Feed is to show you the stories that matter most to you. Initially, just as we do when someone likes a post, if someone uses a Reaction, we will infer they want to see more of that type of post,” Production Manager Sammi Krug wrote in Facebook’s announcement post.

“In the beginning, it won’t matter if someone likes, “wows” or “sads” a post — we will initially use any Reaction similar to a Like to infer that you want to see more of that type of content. Over time we hope to learn how the different Reactions should be weighted differently by News Feed to do a better job of showing everyone the stories they most want to see.”

What Are The Reaction Buttons?

To add a reaction, hold down the “Like” button on mobile or hover over the “Like” button on desktop to see the reaction image options. Then, choose from either “Like”, “Love”, “Haha”, “Wow”, “Sad” or “Angry” and tap your choice.

“Love”

We can all rejoice now that there is a “Love” Reaction option for those posts that “Like” doesn’t do justice for. Comment after comment has asked Zuckerberg to add a “Love” and “Dislike” option, and though there still isn’t a “Dislike”, the “Love” Reaction is predicted to be the next most used Reaction to our previous “Like”.

“Haha”

Lmao, Lol, and ROFL just got simplified with the “Haha” Reaction. This specific Reaction may reduce the amount of comments a post received, because instead of a majority commenting on how funny the content is, they’ll be pressing “Haha” instead.

“Sad”

For the times “Like” just isn’t an appropriate response, the “Sad” Reaction button is there for you.

“Wow”

Have shocking news to share? Expect a few “Wow” Reactions being added to the post instead of “Likes”. Keep in mind, this Reaction can go one of two ways:

1. Excitingly. Baby announcement? Recently engaged? New business location? Those are all Wow! moments that represent a Friend and/or Fans excitement.

2. Sarcastically. Friends and Fans can use the “Wow” button to represent their utter disgust or negative shock with a post.

“Angry”

This is as close as we’ll get to a “Dislike” button for now, and reason enough for Facebook users to be “Angry” about this update. Facebook continuously preaches to remove as much negativity off of the social network as possible, and allow it to be an enjoyable place for communication and connection between family, friends, and fans. A “Dislike” button would break that connection and be more of a cause for online bullying. So for now, the “Angry” Reaction doesn’t look so bad.

How Will This Impact Business Pages?

It’s best to think of Facebook’s new Reactions as a positive update for businesses. Fans will now have the option to not only voice their opinions through comments, but also by choosing how they feel about a post using “Angry”, “Sad”, “Haha”, “Love”, “Like”, and “Wow” buttons. The most feared Reactions for businesses will be “Angry”, “Sad”, and occasionally the sarcastic “Wow”.

Fear not, businesses. Use this information to your advantage to learn what your fans respond to and like best. If post after post is gaining more “Anger” Reactions than “Love”, it’s time to change post content. You’ll also want to avoid beating yourself up when not every single post receives a “Love” reaction. Not all industries want to receive a “Love” reaction for every single post and may benefit more from the variety of Reactions people now have to choose from.

How do you think Facebook’s new Reactions will affect Business Pages? Comment your thoughts below!